As the workforce ages, enabling individuals to work effectively across the lifespan is critical for individuals, organizations, and societies. Put simply, societies and organizations are beginning to face a "new normal" in which people must continue working later in life. Investigations of work ability (WA), an individual's ability to meet the demands of their job, is a line of research that facilitates our understanding of the factors related to working successfully across the lifespan. Although research has established that WA is influenced by a range of organizational and personal factors and linked WA to retirement and disability, a number of gaps and underlying conceptual issues have limited the value of the WA research to the organizational sciences. Through a series of three studies -- a meta-analysis (Study 1a) with k = 247 studies and N = 312,987 individuals, a supplemental online data collection (Study 1b), a nurse sample (Study 2), and a healthcare sample (Study 3) -- this dissertation draws on the JD-R model to move the WA literature forward and advance WA theory within the organizational science literature. Study 1 provides a quantitative synthesis of the WA literature, establishes its nomological network, and provides a straightforward conceptual definition of WA. This synthesis provides a roadmap for researchers and practitioners by highlighting leverage points to promote WA across the lifespan. Second, these studies answer lingering questions regarding the concept of WA. In doing so, these studies provide a clear conceptual distinction between WA as measured by the Work Ability Index (WAI), which includes health-based questions, and measures of perceived WA (PWA), which are perceptions of WA as rated by individual. PWA measures performed similarly to the WAI in the vast majority of analyses, lending substantial support to the use of relatively simple PWA measures. Third, Study 1 and Study 2 provide evidence that PWA explains unique variance in organizational (e.g., engagement, burnout) and personal (e.g., disability intentions, health) correlates above and beyond the established constructs of perceived fit, general self-efficacy, and job self-efficacy. Fourth, Study 2 identified age discrimination as an important yet understudied antecedent of WA and showed that PWA can serve as a mediator between age discrimination and negative outcomes (e.g., lower life satisfaction and task performance). Finally, Study 3 showed that PWA is related to supervisor ratings of task and creative performance. Taken together, these three studies situate WA within the organizational literature and provide substantial evidence of the value of WA for meeting the challenges of an aging and age-diverse workforce.

This doctoral research explores the implications for the employment relationship of the intersection between employment relations and customer relations. The context for the research is Australian higher education - specifically those university workplaces which are strongly market focused and where resourcing is inadequate to meet customer expectations. Traditionally, serving one's customer has meant providing goods or services (as requested by the customer) and doing so with courtesy (as defined by social custom). The customer was clearly outside the traditional employment relationship between employer and employee, although a focus of its output. However, in the context of post-Fordist production systems and post-modern values including the rise of consumption, there has occurred an intersection of product and labour markets which has led to changes to the employment relationship and the labour process. The thesis answers the questions: In higher education, does the student-as-customer have significant influence on the organisation of work? If so, does this constitute a reconfigured model of the employment relationship? The rationale for re-examining the employment relationship in the context of changing consumption patterns lies in the search for more extensive explanations of factors which influence the labour process with the suggestion that consumption is of increasing relevance for industrial relations theory and practice (see for example Heery 1993; Frenkel, Korczynski, Shire and Tam 1999a). The growth of a culture of consumption and changing consumption patterns are symptomatic of change which is central to the Australian economy as a whole and to higher education in particular (Usher, Bryant and Johnson 1997; Scott 1995a). In this context the doctoral research explores the social relations involved in the process of Australian higher education as a service encounter. It examines the implications for the organisation of work in particular, and the traditional bipartite employment relationship in general (between employer and employee although it is noted that the state has a peripheral role), of the student's newly constructed status of customer. The research focus is on flexible delivery which is seen as a key strategic response by higher education institutions to meet their perceptions of their customers' needs and wants. Flexible delivery is a pedagogy, a marketing tool and a form of work organisation and is a fertile domain within which to seek the intersection of employment relations and customer relations. In keeping with the labour process ethnographic tradition, this research employs Burawoy's (1991) methodology of Extended Case Method. This doctoral research raises critical issues related to the incongruence between current Australian national research ethics regimes and long established ethnographic methods employing participant observation. The practical consequences of the national research ethics regime for empirical research are explored in the concluding chapter. The data identifies that university managements' preoccupation with customer relations has undermined the traditional employment relationship between employing institution and academic. While the academic employee in the service encounter is engaged in the primary relationship of the bipartite employment relationship, management's incorporation of the student-customer into formal organisational processes which may lead to control over the organisation of work, potentially brings into being a tripartite employment relationship between employee/employer/customer. In such a model, customer relations is no longer merely the output of the employment relationship but a process within it, with customers acting as management's agents of control. This thesis introduces the concept of the customer as partial-employer. The thesis findings challenge the current management paradigm of customer focus as a 'win-win' situation. In Australian higher education customer focused strategies have emerged from managerial assumptions about student-customer needs and wants, specifically those of flexibility and value-for-money. The unintended consequence of these assumptions on the academic labour process has been a significant shift in the balance of power between academic educator and student at the level of the service encounter, with the subjugation of traditional academic authority to the power of the consumer in what has become a market relationship.

The theme of the thesis is ¡§The Research and Discussion of the Promotion of the Local Employment Policy of R.O.C.¡¨ It is divided into five chapters. The first chapter, Introduction, is started with the unemployment problems caused by the worse and worse situations of politics and the economic environment and the related solutions of the government. Chapter Two, the Backgrounds and the Models of the Promotion of the Local Employment Policy of R.O.C., discusses a series of policies of re-establishment of employment, everlasting employment construction and multiple-employment development, etc. Chapter Three, The Evaluation of the Domestic promotion of local employment policy and related methods, evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of the local employment policy from the points of view of social efficiency and the efficiency of employment. Chapter Four, The Research and Discussion of the Experiences of the Promotion of Local Employment Policies of Foreign Countries, discusses the points which deserve our analyzing and learning, taking reference from the related academic theories and practical policies of USA, EU, Korea, etc. Chapter Five, Conclusion, claims the new thinking of combining the Third Party NGO of Multiple-Employment Development Policy and the benefits caused by the Policy of ¡§Deep Cultivation Localization¡¨ To reduce the rate of unemployment is the purpose of domestic promotion of the local employment policy. Although there appear many disadvantages during the process of practicing of the policy, generally speaking, multiple employment development policy has the advantages of reducing the rate of unemployment, the re-distribution of income, the balance between cities and countries, activating the re-building of the community life and the promoting of local economic development, etc. It is so-called Deep Cultivation Localization which presents the characters and the needs of the communities

This Thesis examines recent trends in flexible forms of employment and how those forms of employment influence and at the same time are influenced by the economic, structural and regulatory environments in the different countries of the European Union, as well as their diverse labour market regimes. Those interactions are used as the basis for an analysis of the likelihood of convergence or divergence in European ways of work organisation; and for a consideration of how much influence decision makers are capable of exercising on this process. The Thesisis divided into four parts. The first part starts by discussing theories of societal development, presenting a model of firms flexibility, and deals with methodological issues involved in relating firms strategies with national employment environments. The second part examines the characteristics of the various European labour markets using data from the European Labour Force Survey (ELFS, 1984 - 1994) and the New Forms of Work and Activity Survey (NFWA, 1989/90). Firm specific data from the NFWAis used to explain variance in firms use of new forms of employment with other firm features. The study argues that European labour markets are still distinct and that differences in the usage patterns and meaning of new forms of employment can not be explained by firm characteristics alone; differences in national labour market regimes have also to be considered. The third part relates the findings of the previous part to the national employment systems and compares various aspects of the findings in three sample countries (Spain, United Kingdom and Germany). It shows that the various systems function in different manners, and possess competitive advantages / disadvantages in different areas. Conditions needed for one system to work are distinct from those needed for the other systems. Interchanging some features known from other systems to increase for example flexibility in the short run, might have effects contrary to those sought and might destroy a system's foundations in the long run. The fourth part looks into possible converging / diverging trends in European ways of work organisation, given the different starting positions. The evidence presented suggest that in the short term gains can be made through a cost cutting strategy, however this will make in the long run the creation of the wanted high trust, high wage, high quality economy in Europe even more difficult. To overcome short term thinking, which could bring about a convergence towards a economy competing only on costs, co-ordination on a supranational level is needed. As the situation of the national systems is still distinct, decision making on this level is increasingly prone to gridlock. However, recent developments on the company level towards transnational information and work councils on a European level might have important effects, even when such arrangements still lag behind the swift developments towards economic and monetary union.

The existing grievance literature has tended to focus on employee decisions concerning dispute action in light of Hirschman’s (1970) ‘loyalty voice exit’ (LVE) model. The present research sought to take an alternative approach by exploring the processes associated with grievances and disputes, through following a series of cases covering both employer and employee perspectives of the same dispute. The cases involved individual-level disputes where the parties were still in an ongoing employment relationship at the time that they accessed the mediation services of the government employment agency. The research process involved observing the mediation sessions and then conducting follow-up interviews with all the individuals associated with each case, including the employer and employee, along with union advocates, legal representatives, and mediators resulting in a total of 70 interviews. The findings covered a range of areas which combined to form a new model which reframed the dispute process as a series of choices, events and stages, rather than the single-choice perspective of much existing literature. The model centres upon three core constructs. The first of these is the Dispute Type, which refers to the nature or substance of the dispute, and identifies three distinct types each of which have their own dynamics and progression, with a significant predetermining effect on the course of employment disputes. The second construct, Power, concerns the relative power of the parties, with a party’s overall power comprising of individual, organisational, and external levels. The series of dispute actions were also found to be driven by power-related dynamics, and this produces a model that both builds upon and also extends, existing models of power in the negotiation literature (Lawler, 1992; Kim et al., 2005). Finally the third construct, Interaction Type, draws on Pruitt and Kim’s (2004) dual concern model, to explore the combined interaction of the strategies and tactics utilised by each side in a dispute sequence. Extending this model into employment dispute situations, the research identifies dynamics which can lead to major escalation of disputes, precluding opportunities for resolution. The research has significant implications for organisations in their management of individual-level employee disputes, as well as for parties such unions and other representatives who are reframed as agents with the potential to increase or reduce the power of parties.

This study was designed to identify correlates of success in Supported Employment (SE) programs for persons with psychiatric disabilities. Indiana policy-makers are seriously considering a managed care, or "capitated," system of payment to make SE provider programs more efficient economically. However, many agencies are concerned about providing services to more severely impaired individuals because of the potentially higher costs of serving these individuals. Two studies are included in this project. The goals of the first study were to identify SE consumer (clinical) characteristics that predict (1) successful outcomes, defined as whether the consumer achieves gainful work, and (2) program costs, defined as the amounts of SE service hours utilized by consumers who obtain work. In two large samples of SE consumers with serious mental illness, no clinical characteristics (e.g., diagnosis, rated functioning, hospitalization history) were associated with vocational outcome or service costs. The goal of the second study was to describe the types and amounts of services utilized by SE consumers who obtain work. Specific service categories associated with obtaining work were travel, training, and advocacy that was unrelated to the consumer's job. The implications of these findings are discussed in the framework of the debate over clinical versus empirical prediction. The need for a theoretical model of SE services that allows the use of predictive clinical and consumer driven services is also discussed. / Department of Psychological Science

xi, 87 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The purpose of this dissertation study was to adapt, deliver, and experimentally test the effectiveness of a research-based, employment-focused group counseling intervention (OPTIONS) that was designed to improve male inmates' ability to secure employment upon release from prison. The intervention curriculum and study were modeled after similar interventions with battered (Chronister & McWhirter, 2006) and incarcerated women (Chartrand & Rose, 1996). The OPTIONS program was grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994, 2000) and comprised of all critical intervention components identified as contributing to positive career intervention outcomes (Brown & Krane, 2000). In addition, the OPTIONS intervention consisted of 5 weekly group sessions, which lasted 120 minutes, and each group was comprised of 6-7 male inmates. The intervention focused on various aspects of the job preparation process such as identifying necessary skills, obtaining information about different types of jobs, practicing for job interviews, and learning how to utilize social support. Study participants included 77 (n = 38 treatment, n = 39 control) adult male inmates housed at the Oregon Department of Corrections medium security release facility, the Oregon State Correctional Institute (OSCI) in Salem, OR. This study utilized a randomized block design, with between subjects and within subjects measurements at pretest, posttest, and one month follow-up. Participants were blocked based upon age and release date, and then randomly assigned to a wait-list treatment as usual control group or the OPTIONS treatment intervention group. Outcomes measured were job search self-efficacy (Career Search Self-Efficacy Scale, Solberg, Good, & Nord, 1994), perceived problem solving ability (Problem Solving Inventory, Heppner, 1988), and hopefulness (Hope Scale, Snyder et al., 1991). Data were analyzed using 2 (experimental group) x 2 (time) analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Results indicated that participants in the OPTIONS treatment intervention had higher career-search self-efficacy, problem solving, and hopefulness scores at posttest and follow-up than participants in the treatment as usual control group. This dissertation study was the first time a manualized, theory based employment preparation treatment intervention was adapted specifically for inmates preparing to release back to the community. / Committee in charge: Linda Forrest, Chairperson, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Krista Chronister, Member, Counseling Psychology and Human Services; Deanne Unruh, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Robert 0 Brien, Outside Member, Sociology

No abstract available / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies) / (M. A. (Development Studies))

Thesis (MTech (Construction Management))--Cape Penninsula University of Technology, 2005 / The construction industry contributes to the economy in terms of its labour intensive nature and status as a major employer of labour in many countries. This pivotal role is divided by its unappealing status ofbeing an industrial sector with the lowest level of employment of disabled persons. Despite the South African government's efforts to diversifY the industry's labour force, these have had little concrete effect on changing the demographics of construction especially relative to the representation of minority groups such as women and disabled persons. The industry presents both a challenging and hostile environment and attitudinal barrier for persons with disabilities. They have not been seen as part of the pool of people considered for employment, and when already employed, possible promotion. To change this negative image, conscious measures are necessary to remove barriers. These measures should include a change in leadership style and approach, fundamental change in culture, change in the negative image of the working environment, and full implementation of equal opportunity policies. This paper reports on the employment status of disabled persons within the construction industry. To achieve this, the qualitative methodology was adopted and included surveys, self-administered questionnaires and interviews as well as the quantitative methodology to validate the completeness of data

The impact of labor market insecurity on immigrants’ mental health is understudied. This current study investigated whether labor market insecurity, as measured by different employment arrangements, has detrimental impact on immigrants’ depression, and if so, how it compares to the role of unemployment. Furthermore, this study investigated whether labor market insecurity had more detrimental impact on immigrants than non-immigrants. To do so, data from seventh wave of European Social Survey (2014/2015) was divided into three separate immigrant groups; first-generation immigrants, second-generation immigrants and non-immigrants. The results shows that labor market insecurity among immigrants had detrimental impact on mental health. The effects were not restricted to the first- generation immigrants’ mental health, they could also be observed in the second-generation immigrants and among non-immigrants. The results presented in this thesis show that not only unemployment, but also insecure employment arrangement have negative impact on mental health, both among immigrants and non-immigrants.